


Perception

by KimPhang



Category: Sander - Fandom, Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Dark sides are mentioned but aren't part of the story, Forced Repression, Gen, Logan and Roman redeem themselves, Patton is trying, Unsympathetic Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Unsympathetic Logic | Logan Sanders, Virge is a bean
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:26:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25094575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KimPhang/pseuds/KimPhang
Summary: It started out as such a normal day. Patton was baking something that smelled absolutely divine in the kitchen, Roman was off saving a princess somewhere, and Logan was reading a really good book sitting in his favorite chair in the living room. The day was so normal most probably would call it a good day. But it was the day when everything changed and they didn’t even know it.
Relationships: LAMP - Relationship
Comments: 15
Kudos: 45





	1. A Good Begining

“Why hello Patton dear! What absolutely delicious thing might you be baking up today?”

Roman walked into the kitchen, still sweaty from his battles in the imagination, and hopped up gracefully onto the counter next to where Patton was cleaning up.

“Hey Kiddo! I made brownies! Wanna try? They should be cool enough now.”

“You know I would do just about anything to try your baking Patty. Shall I bring some out to nerdy over there too?”

“Now Roman, don’t be mean, but that is a good idea! I’ll just bring them all out there and then we can all eat them together!”

“Perfect! I shall grab the plates!”

Patton and Roman made their way to the living room but just as Patton was stepping through the doorway, he tripped on the corner of a rug. This happened so often to poor clumsy Patton that his body could now automatically brace for the impact in a way that would cause the least amount of damage. He closed his eyes and dropped his brownies freeing up his hands to catch himself. 

The moment he knew he was going to hit the floor came... and then it went. Patton was still on his feet. He opened his eyes as he heard a sound like distant thunder all around and felt a warmth that he hadn’t noticed before leaving him like a shadow disappearing under a light.

Patton was safe, but it was too late for the brownies as they had already completed their short journey to the carpet below uninterrupted.

Patton looked up from the spoiled goods and noticed Logan and Roman standing protectively in front of him facing a dark stranger with a slightly nervous look about him.

“It appears we have another dark side in the mindscape huh specs?”

“Yes, it appears so.” Logan said, fixing his glasses. “Well, I trust you know what to do with him Roman.”

“Indeed I do.”

With a sly smile that said he enjoyed doing what he was about to do and a little flourish for dramatics, Roman raised his hands and the stranger, who went from having a nervous look to full blown panic in the space of three sentences, was lifted off of the ground and encased in a perfect sphere of light. After a few moments, the light changed into something more transparent resembling a glass ball. 

After a long moment, the sphere solidified and the side inside looked defeated and resigned. He looked, to Patton, as though he thought this would happen but had held an earnest hope that it wouldn’t. 

The stranger looked around and met Patton’s eye with a sad expression before taking a deep breath and stepping lightly off the ground to sit floating in the center of the sphere with his eyes closed in concentration. 

“Wha.. Why did you have to do that?” Patton stumbled out of his shock enough to say.

Roman and Logan startled and turned around looking surprised to find Patton standing there. 

“Oh! Sorry padre; forgot you were there for a second.” Roman said with a nervous laugh. Logan sighed. 

“Roman, please take this one and put him with the others while I attempt to explain all of this to Patton.”

“Yeah, good idea specs.” And with a snap of his fingers the sphere along with its content were gone. Roman sunk out after.

Patton and Logan stared at each other for a moment before Logan sighed again, more frustrated than before, and started to steer the other side to the couch. 

“Why don’t you sit down. I’ll clean up the spoiled brownies and then I’ll try to explain.”

“Okay.” Patton said with a flat voice and went to sit on the couch, staring blankly at the space where the sad looking person stood just a minute ago.

A little while later, Logan sat back on the couch and after taking a moment to collect his thoughts, did just as he promised.

“A little while ago, another side appeared in the mindscape. But he wasn’t like you Roman or I. He was dark and evil. Within the first five seconds he was in existence, he made Thomas tell a lie that got him into significant trouble. We decided that it was best if his influence was kept from Thomas so Roman encased him in a spear and put him in a room in the imagination for safekeeping. A few more since then have come and have had the same effect on Thomas so we did the same thing to them.”

There was a moment of silence where Patton just stared at Logan. “Okay, I wish you would have told me about this before, but you never answered my question. Why did you have to do that to him? He did nothing wrong.”

“You’re right. He didn’t do anything yet. But he had a dark energy around him that matched the others so it would have been only a matter of time until he did.”

Patton turned his eyes down at his hands folded on his lap. He took a long moment to process everything while Logan thankfully remained quiet. After a while, he sighed a quiet tired sigh. “If you say so.”

He looked back up at Logan after a moment looking conflicted. 

“But doesn’t he still deserve a chance? I mean, it’s not really fair to punish him before he does anything right?”

“You didn’t see the others so you can’t know what they are capable of. Giving him a chance might cause Thomas a lot of pain. We can’t let that happen.”

Patton stood up and looked at Logan with sad conflicted eyes. 

“Okay. You know best I guess. I’m going to my room.” Then he sank through the floor to his room just as Roman was returning. 

He didn’t make any more brownies that day.


	2. This Is Fine

As the day slowly went by, Patton laid on his bed deep in thought. The other two went through their day questioning everything and worrying about Patton. At around five o’clock, when Patton would usually start making dinner, Roman decided he had enough of mindless worry and went up to talk to Patton.

“Patty? Honey, are you okay in there?” 

“I’m fine Roman.”

“Can I come in then? I really want to talk to you..”

After a moment, the door slowly swung open to reveal Patton with a blank look about him.

“Are you sure you’re fine? I mean no offense, but you don’t look fine.”

Patton smiled a small sad smile that didn’t reach his eyes. 

“I’m okay. It’s just, this whole situation is taking a toll on my morality. I’ve been trying to sort through it because I trust you guys but I just can’t be okay with this.”

“Is there anything I can do to make it better?”

“You could let him go?”

Roman sighed

“Besides that?”

Patton thought for a moment.

“Maybe if you just let him live up in the living room.” Roman looked like he was about to say something, but Patton cut him off. “You don’t have to let him out! I just want to see him and talk to him maybe.” 

Roman looked hesitant. 

“Maybe it’ll settle my morals if I see that he’s really as bad as you say.”

Roman bit his lip, took a deep breath, and snapped.

“If it’ll help, then I’m okay with it. It’ll be a little weird having him there, but he’ll go right back down once you see that he’s not good for Thomas.”

Patton squealed and dragged the prince into a hug, so he decided that it was worth it.

“Thank you Roman! Oh, Would you look at the time! I should be starting dinner!” 

With a spring in his step, Patton made his way downstairs to the kitchen but not before peeking into the living room to see Logan and the dark stranger, who was now standing on the ground again, staring at each other in confusion.

Roman came down behind Patton and went straight to Logan to explain things while Patton gave a friendly wave to the dark stranger and went into the kitchen.

After Roman explained things to Logan, and consequently, also to the trapped dark side, Patton came in to get them to help make dinner. The dark stranger just shrugged and looked for all the world like he didn’t have a hope that was just violently crushed beneath the weight of two pairs of glaring eyes. He looked for all the rest of the world, and maybe for Logan and Roman, but not for Patton. Patton got another sad look sent his way before the stranger closed his eyes and went back to floating in the center of the sphere with his hands resting in his crossed lap and his head bowed slightly lower than before.

Before Patton went to bed that night, he went to check on the stranger in the bubble. His dinner, which Roman had teleported in, was left untouched and he was still in the same position as before. 

Patton tried talking to him, but the dark one didn’t speak or even look at him. He didn’t even move, just tensed slightly.

Patton sighed.

“I’m sorry I can’t get you out of there. Roman’s a lot more powerful than me. The only thing we can do is try and prove you innocent but I’m gonna need your help to do that.”

The man in the glass opened his eyes and looked down to where Patton stood. He looked at him with the same sad eyes as before but instead of speaking he just stared at him for a moment, laughed a quiet humorless laugh and closed his eyes once again. 

Patton took a deep breath and turned to leave. “I’m going to find a way to get you out of there whether you help me or not.”

Then Patton left to go to bed. If he had looked behind him as he left the room that night, he might have caught the curious look the dark one gave him with something close to hope in his eyes.

In the morning when Roman and Logan came down the stairs in search of food and coffee, they found a bumbling Patton and an already nearly finished breakfast waiting for them. Logan went to start coffee and Roman, with nothing better to do, looked into the living room and glared suspiciously at the man still floating in the center of the sphere with his eyes closed and his hands in his lap. 

His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the quiet darkness floating around the dark side. Or, he thought he saw it but as soon as he tried to take a closer look, there was nothing there. Roman shook his head and made his way back into the kitchen for breakfast. 

Yesterday, dinner had been tense, and breakfast this morning was little better. There were a few tries at conversation but eventually the table fell silent. Nobody mentioned the side in the other room but he was the only thing on each of their minds.  
The rest of the day went by fairly normally with Roman and Logan pointedly ignoring the dark side whenever they were in the room and Patton, not ignoring, but not talking to the side in the glass ball either.

That night, the lightsides decided to have a movie night. This was a normal thing they did every once in a while but this one was anything but normal. Patton sat on the couch looking for all the world as though nothing was abnormal in the slightest and Roman and Logan sat there looking terribly uncomfortable and stealing glances at the sphere which sat in the dark back corner of the room to the right and behind the tv.

Once the movie finished, Roman and Logan excused themselves rather quickly but Patton stayed behind and made his way over to the sphere. 

The one in the sphere looked exactly as he had the night before at first glance but as Patton looked closer he noticed his head was bowed further his eyebrows were furrowed and there was a pained expression on his face. 

As he watched, he saw a single tear make its way down the dark one’s pale face. “I’ll get you out of there, I promise.”

The darkside didn’t look up as Patton made his way out of the room that night.


	3. Downhill Fast

Weeks went by with nothing much happening. Life took a new form of normal for the lightsides. So much so that two of them nearly forgot there was a side still living in their living room.

In their defense, it wasn’t hard to forget about him as he never really did anything. Everyday was just the same. Just a side floating in the middle of a glass sphere with his hands in his lap and his head bowed. He never moved, never ate, and never spoke. But if the two paid more attention, they might have noticed how much pain the dark side showed on his face. Or how painfully frail he’d gotten. Or maybe they might have noticed the darkness slowly swirling around inside the sphere making it harder and harder to see the floating side.

The two might not have noticed, but Patton did. He watched as the side in the glass got worse and more miserable looking every day and how the darkness got thicker around him. 

Patton tried to talk to him every night for a while but eventually, he gave up hope of getting any reaction at all from the dark man in the glass. He still made a point to sit with him every night before he went to bed though, just to keep him company, but it never seemed to help.

One day, around three months after the incident that first brought the dark side into their home, Patton came down the stairs to find him on the floor of his bubble lying deathly still. 

“Roman! Logan! Help!”

Roman and Logan made their quick way down the stairs, Roman in front with his sword out and Logan not far behind.

“What is it? What happened?” Roman said looking frantically around. When his eyes fell upon the side in the glass he stopped and lowered his sword. Logan brushed past him and hurried closer to the sphere to get a better look.

“I don’t think he’s breathing, we have to get him out of there.” Logan said in a hurried tone.

“Are you crazy? He’s a dark side! We can’t let him out!”

“Roman. He’ll likely die if we don’t. It might already be too late. I agreed to trap the dark sides, not to kill them.”

Roman rubbed his hand over his face. “Alright fine. But he goes right back in after he wakes up.”

Patton was looking back and forth between them for the whole conversation with lots of worry but at the same time something like hope for the first time in months.

Roman flicked his hand and the sphere dropped. Patton and Logan hurried to try and get to the unconscious side but they were stopped by the darkness that was also let out when the sphere dropped. Roman stepped in front and raised his sword and they all waited with bated breaths to see what was going to happen. 

The darkness moved with quiet grace as it slowly started to take form. Or rather, three forms, each of which looking suspiciously like the three light sides who stared back at them in bewilderment. Then, they attacked. 

Roman was quicker than the other two and managed to push his friends further back with the intention of protecting them, but he was pushed back by a separate dark shape who took no form.

The formless shadow made its graceful way in front of the lightsides to block the paths of the three lightside look-alikes who were quickly advancing. 

The battle began. 

Chaos was raging in the living room. Shadow against shadows. One protecting the sides and three attacking. The lightsides were backed up against the wall watching the fight.

The shadows looked about evenly matched even for a while, but three on one is not a fair fight and soon two of the other shadows had pinned the forth to the ground and the one that looked like Roman was slowly making his way toward the lightsides. 

With everything happening so quickly, nobody thought to look at the purple haired dark side still lying unconscious on the floor. 

Roman raised his sword in defense but was easily thrown to the ground by the shadow without landing a single blow. The shadow raised his sword preparing to strike the fallen prince with a shadow sword of its own when all of a sudden, there was a sound like distant thunder and a single, deep, echoing word that hung in the air.

“NO!”

Than silence. Everything stopped all at once. The silence was like a calm before a coming storm. The three lightsides gazes’ snapped over to the darkside who hadn’t moved except to raise one trembling hand out in front of him towards the Roman look-alike who was still poised to strike. 

Then the screaming. Screaming coming from every corner of the room. Every shadow and all the darkness screamed long and loud together in a grating harmony. The lightsides watched in shock as all the shadows melted into a dark puddle and started swirling around the floor.

The stranger slowly struggled to his feet and gave the lightsides a look none of them could decipher the meaning of. The screaming stopped and for a moment everything was so silent that you could hear each struggling breath from the dark stranger. Before any of the light sides could think of anything to do, the screaming started again. It didn’t come from the shadows though. 

No. It came from their uninvited guest, the dark stranger, their man in a bubble, the dark side. 

In the quiet gracefulness in which the shadows entered the room, they flowed swiftly back and were seemingly absorbed into the last standing side as if drawn by the dark echoing scream. 

After all the darkness was gone, the lightsides could do nothing but watch as the dark one fell back to the ground, once again unconscious.

**Author's Note:**

> I only own the story as the characters belong to Thomas Sanders. I thrive off of criticism so if you have anything to say about this work, either good or bad, feel very free to do so below. Or don't idk u do u c: Either way, thanks for reading!


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